Marcia Griffiths & Willie Lindo – Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant
Doctor Birds Records
2CD/DL
Released 9 February 2024
Reissue of two albums originally released in 1974 that were both produced by Lloyd Charmers, with Marcia Griffith’s debut LP being embellished by a set of alternate mixes included on disc two. Ian Canty writes…
Recently Doctor Bird have highlighted the works of Lloyd Charmers, both as a performer and producer. The combination of Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant provides some more proof of his aptitude in the studio environment. By 1974 he was concentrating on production more and having an artist of the calibre of Marcia Griffiths to call on is a good indication of his standing on the Jamaican music scene.
Marcia had just come off the back of an internationally successful pairing with Bob Andy and was looking to capitalise on this in her solo career. Although 1969’s boom year for Jamaican acts on the world stage was well in the rear view mirror by this point in time, there was still a substantial audience for well performed Pop tunes with touches of Reggae and Soul. Sweet Bitter Love fits snuggly into that category, as Marcia versions some tried and trusted material to a sympathetic but subtly skanking backing, while also aiming for straight Rhythm & Blues offerings on the second half of the LP.
This long player ensues with the sound of The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, an Ewan MacColl number which lends itself well to a Reggae treatment. Play Me, which also appears at the end of this LP in a different form, impresses and There’s No Me Without You continues the strong start of this collection. An easy-going I Just Don’t Wanna Be Lonely is good fun and Curtis Mayfield’s Gypsy Man shows how well his songwriting held up when covered by Reggae artists.
Van McCoy’s title track is given a luscious Kingston rhythm, but the second half of the album makes a clear move away from Reggae to try something more Soul-based. The moody R&B of Al Green’s Here I Am (Come And Take Me) is the first to eschew Reggae entirely and the following cut of David Gates’ Everything I Own, a UK smash hit of Ken Boothe in the same year, is more Funk than anything else.
Green Grasshopper is an excellent effort, but the return of a cheery, lilting Play Me, this time with Marcia in duet with Charmers, resolves the Sweet Bitter Love LP with a trip to what brought Marcia to the dance in the first place. It is a record of two halves certainly and how well you are disposed to Soul/R&B is going to determine how much you enjoy the second side. I much prefer the Reggae numbers to be honest, but there is no doubt Marcia could sing a shopping list and make it sound great.
Sweet Bitter Love is on the whole decent showing. But also in 1974 Marcia Griffiths’ career would take a major change of direction when she became part of The I Threes, playing a key role in Bob Marley’s rise to prominence.
Willie Lindo’s Far And Distant collection follows on straight away on disc one. Guitarist Lindo figured in crack session outfits like The Revolutionaries and Joe Gibbs’ Professionals, so he certainly was a player of note. With Lloyd Parks as well as Charmers himself in the backing band, Far And Distant showcases Lindo’s six string prowess from the off with a very cool instrumental in Drum Song. The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood is used as the template for the “Reggae Shadows” sound of Darker Shade Of Black and a fairly MOR Midnight Train To Georgia has Lindo’s guitar taking over the vocal part surprisingly well.
Chopper is pretty mellow too, but does include some choice playing from Lindo and Charmers Mood credits the producer by having his keyboard tones melding perfectly with the guitar atop a sinuous beat. The warm backing to the similarly titled Mystic Mood makes for a joyful piece, one where Willie gets a chance to be a little more expansive in his playing on the long, slow fade out. The sunny feel of Breezing and a solid skank outing Holly Holly close out Far And Distant, a curio for sure, but I found it a charming one. There is one bonus appended to the end of disc one, Midnight (And You) which grants Lindo and his guitar another opportunity in the spotlight and features some (wordless) vocals for the only time on his selections here.
On disc two we return to Marcia Griffiths’ Sweet Bitter Love for 10 alternate mixes of the LP’s tracks, rejigged into a different order. They’re on the whole not massively different from the original takes, but good to have and Marcia’s vocals are of course top quality. Everything I Own sounds Northern Soul-ready in this form and after a little studio talk Green Grasshopper shines in a simpler treatment, until it finally squelches to an end that reveals why it wasn’t used. Two single versions of Sweet Bitter Love and Play Me draw this section to a close.
This set is rounded off by a dip into Lloyd Charmers’ 45 productions from around 1974 with a variety of artists. Marcia’s singing partner Bob bookends these ten single tracks with a rousing Fire Burning to start with and an alternate take of the same song to finish. The suitably spooky intro to The Bone Yard Belly Dancers’ Bone Yard Skank previews a smart trombone instro and B.B. Seaton’s Changed Man comes across as a loveable vocal number. B.B. also contribute the very creditable Been Such A Long Time too.
Bassman Boris Gardiner appears well on the way to the sound of his UK number one I Want To Wake Up With You on a romantic You Make Me Feel Brand New, while DJ Big Youth is caught on ebullient form on Johnny Reggae. Errol Thomas’ Hear Thy Children Cry reveals itself as a touching sufferers anthem and Lloyd Charmers gets in the act himself with a piano drift through Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.
Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant is an odd combination of two contrasting LPs, with the only thing really in common being Lloyd Charmers’ input. The variety of material on Marcia’s album showed there was one eye firmly on the international market in its production. She performs assuredly throughout, the playing is top notch and the alternate mixes show the work in progress well. But I think Willie Lindo’s cultured guitar instrumentals will be more pleasing for the Reggae fan. Added to that, the grab bag of single tracks that end this collection have a few aces in their ranks too. All of this reveals the industry and imagination of Lloyd and his roster of talents, even during one of Reggae’s leaner periods.
Track down Marcia Griffiths & Willie Lindo – Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant by clicking here
slicing through the static 